I’m upgrading my office chair. I don’t know a lot about chairs or ergonomics, so I’m soliciting advice. I do know that these are apparently the fanciest chairs in the world, but I haven’t sat in one for six years (I worked at a company that had a dozen, along with a truly incredible table, in their boardroom). They’re going for about CAN $800 on eBay. Are they worth it? What should I look for in a chair? Any recommendations?
Office Chair Recommendations
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DarrenBarefoot.com 
Yes I’ve heard these chairs are the bomb. I would love to have one even though I’ve never sat in one. I actually had a conversation with a stranger a month ago about how wonderful (and expensive) these chairs are.
When you used it at your old job, did you like them?
ah, the kiss of death chair. Any company that buys more than one of those chairs ends up doing mass layoffs within a year.
The programmers had them when I worked at Telus. Surprisingly enough, they were bought roughly a year before the Mass Layoff of 2002 (which included me.)
As I wrote three years ago, a $99 Hon office chair is pretty much as good as an Aeron chair if you set it up properly. Or at least it is for me. It’s more important to configure your workspace well and to take lots of breaks than to spend a lot on a chair.
By the way, other than that $99 Hon, the other office chairs I have were both bought from a MacMillan Bloedel sale in the 1980s, when they were getting rid of their original furniture from 1968, the year the company’s HQ was built on Georgia Street at Thurlow in downtown Vancouver. Both chairs are mostly steel, with good padding, and are still going strong. They’re older than I am.
By the way, if you want to go really crazy, forget the Aeron and get yourself to the Wood Merchant in La Conner, Washington, for a $5000 USD hand-sculpted hardwood office chair.
One more bit I can’t resist: in the office I work at, the guy with back problems doesn’t sit on an ergonomic chair of any sort. He sits (very upright) on one of those big inflatable exercise balls. Those cost, what, about 25 bucks?
J-Walk just about a $600+ U.S. chair, writing “I’ll spend at least a third of my life sitting in it, so it’s worth it.” Hey, if you have the money…
Yeah, the Aeron’s worth it. I found one on eBay for 500US and wouldn’t trade it for anything. Never found a better chair anywhere–except for a lot more money,
My life’s ambition was to sit in an Aeron, and so it was (predictably) a little underwhelming once I got one. And yes, that dot-com v soon thereafter went Poof.
Darren, if you bear to cross the water, I’d highly recommend you to the people at Chairlines on W4th (at about Arbutus). I recently bought a superb office chair from them. They supply all the regional health authorities and have a very wide-ranging selection, which if nothing else, will give you the flavour of what else is out there.
Herman Miller does not have a patent on sound ergonomics…
I too have had the pleasure of sitting in an Aeron, and the company I working for (that possessed the mighty chair) did indeed fold within a year of its inception.
The exercise balls are great for ergonomics (just don’t forget you’re sitting on it and reach backward – you’ll fall down) as are those ergonomic “stools” that leave you in a pseudo-kneeling position.
My recommendation is to just try out as many as possible, and go with what feels right. Just make sure the place you purchase at will let you return it if you end up with a few funny pains at the end of the first week using it full time (sortof like the Sleep Country 60 night guarantee).
If my house ever catches fire I’m going to grab my Aeron first (If my house ever catches fire I’m going to grab my Aeron first (
To sit correctly at a desk for the purpose of using a computer is pretty simple. Raise the chair height so your elbows are at 90 degrees.
Your computer screen should not be too low as to cause your head to come down but should be placed slightly lower than eye level. Ideally you should also have some sort of foot rest in front of you where the toes are elevated up of the ground also 90 degrees.) There are lots of sites on the web..check them out!
Claudia,
Australia
In my Exec MBA program, I generated $500k for a struggling company in a business case by suggesting that the company auction off its 1000 Aeron chairs. It was just a business case, but, hey, $500k is $500k.
Go for the Aeron. When I worked at Inform Interiors they were always highly rated. See what they’ll charge for two!!
I’m not certain, but that looks like the chairs at a former client’s–one of the professional associations (which, by the way, is still in business. But then, associations with disciplinary functions just don’t go away.) They had them all around their boardroom table, which had floor-to-ceiling windows and a fabulous view. In that context, the chairs were amazing. I actually looked forward to sitting in them.
Sitting in a meeting for an hour is different from using a chair at a computer, of course. I’d want to check one out really thoroughly in person before buying.
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The most important thing about a ergonomic office chair is that you have one, you don’t have to spend the earth and if you stray away from the big names in ergonomic office chairs you can get a lot of chair for a lot less money. Herman miller and alike are indeed the best known but you can get the same ergonomic benefits from you office chair for a lot less of your hard earned cash, unless the boss is footing the bill, then go the whole hog and have the benefit of a excellent ergonomic office chair and the name to go with it.
Well the funny thing is.. New research shows that sitting at 90 degrees is actually bad for your back! Apparently we are supposed to be sitting at 135 degrees.. Have a look at this link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6187080.stm
Probably no more than $400 to get a very good ergonomic office chair. Keep looking around.
Exercise balls are for exercising, not long-term sitting. A proper chair supports your back fully in sitting as long as you sit fully back in the seat pan. The recommended backrest angle is between 90 – 110 degrees, depending on your own personal preference. Sitting at 135 degrees causes issues in other areas of the body such as neck because the body is a kinetic chain. The advantage of adjustable chairs is that you can make micro-adjustments within a small range that will make a huge difference to your back muscles over time. Kneeling chairs cause contact stress at the knees and do not provide back support.